


Can I Have a Kiss?

by Rhysanoodle



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 13:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16556537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhysanoodle/pseuds/Rhysanoodle
Summary: Elain gets more than she bargained for on her birthday





	Can I Have a Kiss?

“Elain! _Elainnn!_ Tell us about that one time you caught Nesta getting all hot and bothered while reading her booksss.” **  
**

Elain couldn’t help the crimson which plastered itself across her already wine-blushed cheeks as she processed what Cassian had just yelled at her from across the bar.

“Wha ... what are you talking about?” she squeaked out, trying to deflect the strange request while dodging Nesta’s death glare.

“You know...” Cassian gave her a conspiratorial nod, trying to pry it out of her.

Sure, before Elain had learned to scent the signs of it, she’d absentmindedly walked in on Nesta a handful of times, right in the midst of what must’ve been particularly steamy scenes—judging by the positioning of her sister’s free hand—but she’d never mentioned it to anyone else before.

Judging by Nesta’s dagger-like glare though, her sister wouldn’t buy any excuse she could give, so…

“Which time?” she finally blurted, rather brashly.

This sent Cassian into a fit of hysterics, causing some of the ill-timed sip of amber liquid to come spewing out of his nostrils.

“Eww, disgusting, you pig,” Mor spat, as he accidentally showered her and Nesta with the deluge.

“Come on,” she grabbed Nesta by the arm, leading her to the washroom. “Let’s go fix your hair.” 

Because while indeed, Mor could simply vanish away the sticky residue which had sprayed their outfits with a snap of her fingers, Cassian, standing a head taller than Nesta had really drenched her head in booze.

As the two strode away from the bar, Cassian followed behind, clearly looking to resolve this privately with Nesta before she gutted him in front of the group.

With Feyre and Rhysand already rather enraptured in dancing their child-free night away on the floor of Rita’s that left only Elain and Azriel alone at the bar.

He sidled up behind her, resting a hand on her back.

 _Oh._ Elain almost jumped out of her skin at the contact.

She’d felt something brewing between them for weeks now, but even with all the lingering glances he’d given her in the garden and the late night strolls around Velaris, he’d never gone so far as to touch her.

Elain had been reticent to let herself hope because she wasn’t even sure they _were_ going to ever become a thing though. She still noted how his shadows lightened up around Mor and the rapt attention he paid the other female whenever she was in the room.

Az could just view her as a close friend, a confidant. In the months after Rhys and Feyre had had Orrin, they frequently got enlisted in babysitting duty together whenever their rulers needed to attend court or meetings, since Nesta and Cassian now maintained a permanent residence in Windhaven. 

Their relationship was really only one of circumstance, but she’d come to enjoy his stoic presence as he helped her plant the seeds which would bloom this coming spring. And ever since they’d been spending so much time with the baby, she’d seen his softer side emerge.

He’d looked completely confuddled the first time the babe had been thrust into his arms, but now he cooed to him, bounced him to try to calm him, and on special occasions, could be found playing peekaboo if Elain managed to sneak up on him at the right moment.

And now, with his hand burning a hole through the fabric of the gown in the small of her back, she was more confused than ever.

“Not exactly how you imagined your birthday, I’m guessing?” he murmured close to her ear, whiskey mingling with the smoke and cedar scent which drove her mad.

She turned to face him, plastering on as much of a smile as she could. “It’s fine, really. It’s a bit loud, but I’m just thrilled that Nesta and Cassian made the trip, if only for the evening. Though I doubt we’ll see them anytime soon, and those two”—she gestured to the dance floor—”are just so high on the fact that Amren actually volunteered to watch the munchkin that they’ll be like that all night. And …”

She tried to hide the fact that her eyes were tearing up. They’d only been here for a couple of hours, and already their group had dispersed, likely forgotten the occasion.

“Awe, they haven’t forgotten about you.”—It was eerie how easily he always seemed to be able to read her—“They’re just, well, a chaotic bunch at best. When you have centuries to get used to it, it begins to bother you less. And you’ve still got me,” the corner of his mouth turned up in a crooked grin.

“Sorry I was late, by the way. His fault.” Az cocked his head at Rhysand. “But I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Was she imagining the blush flushing across his cheeks? Perhaps it was the few glasses she’d seen him down or the vivid lighting coming from the direction of the dance floor playing tricks on her eyes.

“Oh. I—I know. You were in Day weren’t you?”

“Yes, but I rushed through my business so I could be here tonight. Helion may have been a bit flustered at my abrupt disappearance, but it was worth it. I couldn’t stand another second trapped in a room alone with him,” he laughed.

Cauldron boil her, but his laugh was one of the most beautiful sounds she’d ever heard, and she took a long draught of her wine glass as she tried to figure out how to respond. She wasn’t sure she could form coherent sentences when he was gazing at her with those molten, honeyed eyes, pure joy radiating off of him for one of the few times she could remember.

“Th—Thank you.” She drained the rest of his glass, and perfectly knowing how much she wanted to be anywhere but here, he set his glass on the bar, threw down enough gold to settle their tabs, gathered her gift bags in one arm, and offered his free one to Elain.

“Care to get out of here?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

When they’d scrambled through the crowd and out into the frigid night air, they both let out sighs of relief in sync.

“Next year, I think I’d just prefer dinner at home. Or maybe at a quiet cafe by the river. I don’t know. This just wasn’t my style.”

“I’ll be sure to put in a word with the party-planning committee, but why’d you agree to it?”

“Last year, we stayed in because Feyre was on bed rest, and she and Mor seemed so excited about the idea that I just went along with it. It was fine I guess, minus the fact that they all drank so much so quickly that it was barely a gathering before everyone got hammered and broke off. And I’m not so great in large settings, so …” She shrugged, leaning into his warmth as the cool winter winds swirled around them.

Though spring had begun to gradually peek its head out of its burrow, the early-March air still nipped at them in the evenings.

He tensed almost imperceptibly as her head met his shoulder before letting out a deep breath and resuming his relaxed posture, but after she’d begun to shiver in earnest a few blocks later, he halted abruptly and then pulled them into a tiny cafe which looked like they were just about to close for the evening.

“Two hot chocolates,” he hastily ordered as Elain rubbed her hands together, leaving an extra generous tip for the barista who’d seemed a little discouraged to receive customers at such an hour but enthusiastically went about making the drinks as soon as she saw the gold pieces on the counter.

While they waited, he gently set her bags down and shucked off his coat, carefully undoing the buttons around his wings with his shadows and extending it to her.

“Az, I can’t take that.”

“I could feel you shaking, El. Trust me. These leathers will keep me plenty warm. You’ll get much more use out of it. I’m sorry for not realizing it before we left the bar.”

She moved reluctantly, trying to hide how much she wanted to snatch the jacket out of his hands and breathe in his scent clinging to the fabric. And indeed, as soon as she’d donned it, not only did she finally begin to warm up, but she was completely enveloped in the essence of _him._

Grabbing their drinks, he bid farewell to the barista, grabbed Elain’s bags, and escorted her back into the dimly lit streets of Velaris, back toward that riverfront estate where she was still living with Feyre and Rhysand.

They walked on in companionable silence, Elain still pressing into his shoulder to leech what little warmth she was unable to combat with her jacket, soaking in the moment with him; she wished it would go on forever.

Even though he was likely only ever going to be her friend, she savored these times where he let her past his guard for even a minute. And tonight, he’d been full of surprises. He’d never so brazenly touched her or held her arm so tenderly or let her lean on him—though that might just be because of how tipsy they both were.

“Would you like me to bring my present for you over tonight or tomorrow? I’m sorry that I left it at my place.” He blushed as he broke the silence. “I just thought I’d have a bit more time to stop off there before your party, but I found myself having to make a beeline to Rita’s.” He halted at the end of the long gravel drive leading up to the front of her home.

Perhaps it was the magic of the night or the alcohol coursing through her veins or the fact that their bodies were practically buzzing with static electricity as she raised her eyes to find his face only inches from her own.

But she gazed into his own depthless eyes for a moment before finally whispering, “Can I have a kiss instead?”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked, it’s just that—”

He silenced her by closing the distance between them, reverently touching his lips to hers, the kiss as if in answer to a prayer he’d been fervently sending to the Mother. His touch was featherlight as he savored the moment, eliciting a soft sigh from inside of Elain.

Pulling away slightly at that sound and brought one hand up to lightly caress her cheek.

“Cauldron, Elain. If I’d known that was what you really wanted, I would’ve been kissing you all damn night.”

“You’re not—you don’t—you really aren’t just saying that? I thought … I could’ve sworn you loved ...”

“Mor?”

She nodded.

“For a very long time I did, but lately, I’ve been wondering if we aren’t just better off as friends. I’ll admit that she was difficult to get over, but the main reason I’ve gotten over her has been _you_ , El.”

Her eyes were watering at the unexpected confession.

“You’re the kindest, sweetest person I know, and you’re so damn funny. I find myself finally able to relax whenever I’m with you, and I know I wouldn’t sign up for babysitting duty as much as I currently do if it wasn’t another excuse just to be near you. I can’t get enough, but … I kept telling myself you’d never return my feelings. That you have someone else ...”

“He’s nothing to me. You, on the other hand, Az ... I feel like I’ve been falling for you for ages, but I thought there’d always be this ... barrier between us so I’ve kept my distance. I’m not even sure what made me ask you that just now, other than the fact that I’ve been thinking about kissing you all damn night.”

“I’m so fucking glad you did though.” He set down her bags, sweeping Elain into his arms as his lips crushed against hers with the urgency of a male desperate to get to know every inch of her. One who had done his waiting and was finally letting himself enjoy the fruits of his labor.

The next thing she knew, they were soaring high above Velaris, a protective, cobalt shield keeping most of the bitter, night air from lashing against their skin.

“Where are we—”

“I want to show you my place tonight. No expectations. You can simply get your _other_ present and then go home if you wish, but I want to let you in. I want to show you the one place where I can truly be myself. The one place nobody else knows about.”

“I’d love that, Az.”

“I love you, Elain Archeron,” he murmured into her ear. “I have for awhile now. And I hope to make this the happiest birthday of your life.”

Elain blushed as she kissed him on the cheek, and they flew off into the heart of Velaris.


End file.
